GC King of the Blues - Anyone else sign up?

philflood

Guitar Center is running this King of the Blues competition. It doesn't cost anything to enter. There are 30 entries per store. There are various prizes at the store, regional and national level, with the top prize being a new Mustang, $5k, studio time, and a magazine article.

I signed up. What I really though was cool was that you get a CD with 21 blues backing tracks, free. So if you wnat some decent blue to jam along with, check the competition, sign up and get your free CD.

motowncoop

I tried to sign up at my local GC but they were filled up. I think I'll try the next closest one. I have about 4 GC's within a 20 mile radius, so maybe:)

Good luck!!!

motowncoop

What is even cooler is that you can get the blues backing tracks here too
http://www.gckingoftheblues.com/static_content/view/backing_tracks.html

Tal Rules

I'm in....

I'm a sucker for a blues show down....
Post your entries after the competition.
I'll post mine as well... 8)

I've got the GNX4 with the backing track on the flash card, plugged into my amp. Then working on some lead licks on my other amp...

I entered last year and didn't get out of the first round.. .
But I did meet some pretty cool players to jam with.. 8)
There's always this year..

Meathook

Thanks for the heads up. GC opens in less than an hour. Gonna go sign up. :rockon:

Meathook

I'm in!

Happy to see there's about three or four tunes on that CD that I may be able to work over. Anyone else in the Sacramento area gonna sign up?

motowncoop

I love that Monkey Paw track

Tal Rules

I'm probably gonna do Track 6. \"Lil Girl Shuffle\"...
Sounds pretty bitchn' with my L5..

Meathook

oh I would choke so bad if I had to play that one...
I'm actually not that experienced with the blues. So I went and got a book, and am also gonna expand my music library. The book has some \"essential listening\" artists on the back page. :rockon:
I was a bit worried about the book/dvd at first. It's titled \"MASTERING\" the Blues. But the first three quarters of the DVD is all very simple stuff that you learn your first few months of playing guitar lol... Luckily the book is more comprehensive. And it's the third in the series. I hate to think what may be considered beginner and intermediate
Back to the KOTB thing though. (I'm actually kind of excited if you couldn't tell)
The tracks on the GC disc I'm most likely to play are:
Austin City Shuffle
Slow Down Blues
Texas Blues
Laid Down Blues
Stone Blues
Chicago Blues

I just can't get a feel for the other stuff. But... I would prefer to play over an Albert Collins style track that I dl'd from some guy's website. He's got about twenty different blues backing tracks for free download, but alas I forgot to bookmark it. Looking at the contest rules, I don't see anything that says I have to play over one of those provided tracks.

Luckily my best friend of 25 years is a jazz player and about twenty years ago he showed me some funky chords that I pasted together into a very unique bluesy sounding riff. I can probably kill a minute out of the acoustic set with that haha Anyway good luck to everyone else up until we meet at regionals

philflood

I'm definitely going for A Minor Affair.

Meathook

:rockon:
That's actually becoming one of my favorites too.
It does say in the rules to choose one of the backing tracks. Guess I missed that part earlier.

phatsack

these tracks are cool to jam on even if your not signing up

motowncoop

Finally signed up today!

Although \"Monkey Paw\" is a blast to play with, I think I'm gonna go with \"Slow Down Blues\".
Good luck to all of you that are competing

philflood

Knocked out in round 1. Reminds me of one of my lyrics - \"ruined, defeated by the illusion of my own charade.\"

Anyhow, all the guys who played were fine. The two selected as winners were as deserving as anyone else, so I got no gripes.

Meathook

that sucks man. Judges obviously had no taste at your store! What song did you end up choosing?

The biggest problem I have this clinical fear of playing in front of people. Never used to. When I was in high school I played several gigs and loved it but somewhere along the way I developed some severe stage fright. Dunno why. Hopefully I don't get too nerved out when I go in on the 27th. I have settled on \"Slow Down Blues\" since I always seem to wind up playing like Robben Ford or Clapton off the EC Was Here album.

Tal Rules

The judges are obvious igmos for net letting go on Phil...
Get em' next year buddy.. 8) .

I WON..Got out of the 1st round. :shock: .Now on to the store finals. ..

Here's the track along with my lead work, if you're interested...
Played it pretty much as it sounds...

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=495855&songID=5093714

It's Track 6. (Lil Girl Shuffle)...

I did everything wrong...(Supposedly) :?
Sat down, didn't stand up...
Didn't get the amp dialed in properly (Lot of feedback when I didn't want it)..
And played clean with no distortion...

Somehow, the judges and crowd dug it and I moved into the store finals, to be held April 3rd.. :shock: .

Get em' next year Phil.. Got knocked out the 1st round last year and I know how you feel..Don't let it get you down.. Just practice up and come back next year and KICK A S S!!!!! 8)

Good luck Meathook!!!

philflood

Thanks for the support, guys! It's tough here in San Antonio, when you walk into a competition, and the panel of judges all are Hispanic, more than half of the competitors are Hispanic and you are not. I played A Minor Affair, track 5. I did what I wanted to with it. It plays through the verse 5 times. I used my GNX4 with my Clapton strat and ran it direct to the PA board. They were using JBL EONs and it sounded fine to me. Verse 1, I played a simple straight lead, verse 2, I played the lead in octaves. verse 3 I did what I call full chord leads, and verses 4 and 5, I played at the top of the neck, with a little delay added to patch that I used for the first 3 verses. I expected that one of the two folks chosen to move on to the store finals would be a youngster, and, in fact, they did pick a young player, who played with a lot of enthusiasm, has a great look, but did not, IMHO necessarily nail the piece he played. The other fellow chosen, played with what seemed like no emotion, straight up playing, quite mechanical, but there was nothing really wrong with it. It just didn't inspire me. I think I might have tried to do too much, but I tried to get into the spirit of the competition by taking the Blues into the 21 century, which I was attempted to do with the multiple techniques and the effects.

I'll give it another shot next year.

philflood

Oops - I almost forgot to say this - WAY TO GO TAL!!!!!!

Meathook

Sounds like you had a good plan to me Phil. Unfortunately with stuff like this it's all subjective. It really just depends on what the judges want to hear and to a certain extent, see. Better luck next year eh?

Tal that is smokin man! I guess if you play like that you can break some rules! Congrats on advancing. :rockon:

Good luck Meathook!!!

Thank you Tal :rockon:

motowncoop

I did'nt make it out of round one either. Oh well, it was a cool experience anyway. There were some really good players and the guys that moved on were awesome. I don't give up that easy, so I'll be ready next time around.
Good luck to the rest of you

Meathook

I advanced to store finals. WEWT!

motowncoop

Way to go Meathook!

Meathook

:rockon:
Thanks Mo :beer:

philflood

Way to go, Jim!! Kick their ass!!

Meathook

:ROCKON:
:BEER:

TBH it's kind of strange quantifying musical appeal in a contest, so I'm just gonna do my thing and not let the whole competition mentality cloud my psyche

But yeah, I'M GONNA KICK SOME @## NEXT WEEK! lol

Tal Rules

First off...
CONGRATS MEATHOOK. 8) ..

Kick A S S this coming Tuesday in the store finals...
I'll be pulling for you....
8)
2nd..
I'm competing in the store finals Tuesday, down here in Texas..
Went with a different kind of tune....A country Blues, I'm going to be playing Tuesday...It might just go over in Texas...
It's Track 11, entitlted \"Devils Corner\" on the Guitar Center Backing Tracks..
Here's my version of it I'm going to be playing on the 3rd of April..
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=495855&songID=5178831
If any of you guys are interested, take a listen and critique..

Once again...Thanks for your support and get em' Meathook!!! 8)

Meathook

Grats Tal!

NICE bend at 52! I've never played that style before. But I love it. Very country sounding.

Here's a sneak peak at my track for Tuesday. I've got enough stuff to fill the rest of it, but I'm trying to make sure I build on a theme and bring it up in intensity to the last 12 bars where I'm going to bring it down again for a little melody line I've written. I wanted to start with the melody as well, but it doesn't sound good as an intro. It's most definitely a closing line.
No GNX here. Just the little practice amp.

http://www.polytyrant.com/music/MinorAffair/storefinalsSneakPeak.mp3

Good luck Tuesday Rollie!

iliace

\philflood\ wrote:

Thanks for the support, guys! It's tough here in San Antonio, when you walk into a competition, and the panel of judges all are Hispanic, more than half of the competitors are Hispanic and you are not. I played A Minor Affair, track 5. I did what I wanted to with it. It plays through the verse 5 times. I used my GNX4 with my Clapton strat and ran it direct to the PA board. They were using JBL EONs and it sounded fine to me. Verse 1, I played a simple straight lead, verse 2, I played the lead in octaves. verse 3 I did what I call full chord leads, and verses 4 and 5, I played at the top of the neck, with a little delay added to patch that I used for the first 3 verses. I expected that one of the two folks chosen to move on to the store finals would be a youngster, and, in fact, they did pick a young player, who played with a lot of enthusiasm, has a great look, but did not, IMHO necessarily nail the piece he played. The other fellow chosen, played with what seemed like no emotion, straight up playing, quite mechanical, but there was nothing really wrong with it. It just didn't inspire me. I think I might have tried to do too much, but I tried to get into the spirit of the competition by taking the Blues into the 21 century, which I was attempted to do with the multiple techniques and the effects.

I'll give it another shot next year.

It sounds like you had some good ideas (without hearing it), but I would recommend mixing it up. It's all about phrasing when it comes to blues. Of course you can modernize it; that's what blues is all about; just don't forget to state a simple idea and expound on it.

To our winners and finalists - congratulations! You guys have skills and talents that are not comparable to us simple folk, and it deserves recognition.

Tal Rules

Like the tone and licks you're playing MeatHook..
Killer. 8) .

Aw C'mon Ilace.. ..
Lot's of guys here, and elsewhere could play circles around us, but chose not to enter, for whatever reason..
Glad they didn't..
Damn things almost impossible to win anyway...

Meathook

Thanks Rolland.

iliace if you watch the tape of last year's event, you will see w/o a doubt it's not skill they're after. Which is NOT to say those player are not skilled, I'm just saying I didn't see one guy do anything I couldn't play myself, and a lot of it w/o any thought. So there were no technical giants in the finals. They just want someone with a genuine love for the instrument and a great attitude that people can stand to listen to.

Rolland says it right. Except I think it's completely reasonable to think I might win.

I'm actually a little worried that what I'm doing to A Minor Affair isn't bluesy enough. It's coming off more and more like a fusion take. But I think I would rather be me and play what I feel because that way I ensure a 10 for originality.

Tal Rules

Did not advance..
6 fantastic players tonight, and man am I glad I wasn't judging..
Played my heart out and did my best as did the other 5 guys..
Just had a hoot..
And a highly enjoyable experience..
I'll be back next year, Lord willing and the creeks don't rise..